The Girl Under The Floor
by JD Merchant
Summary: When Raven Reyes discovers a girl under the floor during a repair job in Factory Station, she finds herself utterly infatuated with the girls identity. The two become inseparable, but as friendship turns in to something more, can Raven keep the girl under the floor a mystery forever?


FUCK.

This is the twelfth time I've reworked the wiring on this damn bracelet and I'm starting to get really frustrated. Sinclair, the Chief Engineer of the Ark, is a few feet away, pretending to be busy and glancing up at me everytime I throw a tool across the room. It's definitely not helping and it never does.

A few weeks ago, Chancellor Jaha asked me to build a prototype for an activity tracker that monitors heart rate, sleep, and other vitals, but it's a little hard to do when I don't know what exactly it's being used for. I throw the bracelet across the table and sink my head into my hands. The metal raven around my neck swings over the work table and I take it in one hand, examining it. Finn gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday.

"Maybe you need to take a break." Sinclair is standing next to me now and his voice is cool, calm, and collected. It never fails to ease at least part of the constant stress I'm under. I shake my head and return my gaze to the bracelet.

"Maybe someone should tell me what it's for so I can rewire it more specifically." I shoot back. Nobody ever tells me anything around here. They just expect a mechanic to make shit out of thin air. "Do _you_ know what it's for?"

"No," I can tell he's exhausted with my constant questioning of authority, but he takes a guess for sake of arguing. "Maybe they're going to track everyone's vitals to make sure oxygen consumption is normal?"

No. That can't be it. They want too much out of it. My head is back into my hands again and a sigh falls from Sinclair's lips.

"There's a work order to fix a broken AC in Factory Station. You wanna take care of it?" Sinclair suggests. I roll my eyes.

"This bracelet needs to be done as soon as possible. Besides, I need to focus on my training for Zero-G. Not maintenance, Sinclair." How he puts up with my mood swings is a mystery to me, but he's always been there for me.

"I know. But doing a simple repair will get your mind off of everything while keeping you productive." He says and now I'm the one with a smile on my face. He knows me too well. I let out a small laugh and grab a tool kit. Sinclair hands me the work order.

"Section No. B-17." I read. Bellamy Blake's cabin.

* * *

Factory Station is a place we've rarely had work orders for in the last few months due to the recent upgrades it's gotten. Chancellor Jaha wants them to produce more goods for the Ark and that means expanding and installing better systems. Seeing as it's a very pivotal part of survival on the Ark, it's always at the top of the work order list. Since it's pretty far from Mecha-station, I have a few minutes to think to myself, but all that's on my mind is that bracelet and what it's for.

If Chancellor Jaha thinks he can track all 2,000 plus people on this Ark, he's out of his mind. I may be the best mechanic on the Ark, but there's no way I can make that many bracelets in a few months, let alone a few weeks. The way he talked to me about it made it seem so urgent, like he needs it tomorrow. I roll my eyes because I just can't let it go. I'm so headstrong it frustrates me sometimes. I decide to think about Finn instead and my hand finds its way back to the namesake across my neck.

Finn lives next door and since my mother is a deadbeat who would rather trade our portions for moonshine than take care of me, Finn's been sharing his food with me for years. He actually saved my life.

Bellamy Blake rushes down the hallway and I'm pulled from my reverie. He waves as he passes and I nod at him. A minute later, I'm knocking on the door of his cabin, waiting for his mom, Aurora, to answer the door. Nobody comes. I impatiently stand there for few more seconds before I try again.

"I have a work order to fix your-" Someone opens the door, but it's not Aurora. I don't recognize her at all, but her dark brown hair falls over her shoulders in the same melodic way that Finn's does and I'm confused and breathless for a moment. Who is she?

"Uhm, hi." I manage to say, but the door is slammed shut before much else happens. I look around quickly, figuring this girl doesn't want anybody to know she's here and knock again, gently. "Hey, I just need to fix the AC." I say, almost in a whisper. The door cracks open. Green eyes stare back at me and I decide that they are the color of trees.

The girl pulls me into the cabin and slams the door behind me, locking it. Beads of sweat make rivers down her face and she breathes heavily. She analyzes me like a complicated math problem, like she's never been face to face with another person before.

"Was there anybody walking by when I opened the door?" She's frantic, worry eating away at her. Her voice shakes, but it's gentle and kind and full of the kind of mystery I want to solve. I don't understand.

"No. Are you okay?" I ask. She shakes with fear, but she is so beautiful that I wonder why I've never met her before.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were Bellamy..." Her voice trails off, but I hang on to every inflection in her voice with childlike intrigue. Every word she says has my full attention.

"How come I've never seen you before?"

"I don't get out much." She shrugs. That's not enough.

"What's your name?" I inquire and, after a few moments, "Fine. You don't have to tell me."

"Please just- promise me you won't tell anybody you saw me here." She begs.

"How can I tell anybody when I don't even know your name?" She lets out a smile on that one and I see the anxiety in her fade away. Suddenly, I'm painfully aware that the AC needs fixing.

"Jesus, it's hot in here!" I exclaim, wiping the perspiration off of my forehead.

"Isn't that what you're here for?" She whispers like she's still hiding behind the door, but the sarcasm in her tone is very present. A smirk tugs at my lips and I want her to tell me every detail about herself. She's a puzzle I can't put together and while that in itself bothers the hell out of me, I'm more worried about why I'm so obsessed with figuring out who she is instead of why she's acting so weird. I move towards the thermostat and open it up.

"I'm Raven." I introduce myself as I study the system in front of me. I look over my shoulder quickly to see if she will respond, but her back is turned towards me. "Do you live in Factory Station?" I try, but I know I'm not going to be getting anything out of this girl.

"You ask a lot of questions for a mechanic." She says and the shakiness in her voice is barely there.

"Yeah? Well, you don't answer a lot of questions for a stranger." I shoot back. Not my best work, but I've also never met someone like her. "So can I at least get a name?"

"You just said it. It's Raven." This girl may be more hard-headed than I am, but I can't let it go. I'm a mechanic. Curiosity is in my nature and, being a Reyes, so is stubbornness. I toss my screwdriver in my tool bag. "I'm not fixing this until you talk." I take a few steps towards her until I'm right in front of her. "So you can either cook in here or just tell me your name."

She gives up.

"Octavia." I think she refuses to look me in the eyes because it'll expose the secrets hidden in hers, but then I realize she's staring at the raven around my neck.

"I like your name." It's actually the most beautiful name I've ever heard.

"Bell gave-" She stops like she's said something deeply offensive and nervously fidgets with her hands. "Nice necklace." She says and our eyes meet. Instantly, I'm entranced. If these are what trees look like then I can't wait to get to Earth.

"How old are you?" I wonder, not breaking my gaze. She wants to answer, I can see it, but footsteps shuffle outside and she refocuses her attention on the thermostat.

"Please, just fix the AC." Her guard is back up and her attention is glued to the door as if she's waiting for it to open, but hoping with every fiber of her being that it won't. I see a floor board slightly out of place and I begin to understand her situation. I feel sorry for Octavia and reach out to touch her shoulder, to pull her concentration back to me. She jumps when we make contact, but I refuse to let go. I need her to hear this.

"Octavia, I'm not going to tell anybody about this. It's not mine to tell. _I promise_." That seems to be the relief she needs. She nods her head, glad to be able to breath, I assume. I make my way back to the AC and find a fried wire. "Gotcha." I say. "Mechanics trick." I grab some gum from my tool kit, a rare commodity on the Ark, and chew it for a few seconds before tearing off a piece and covering the wire. I give the wire a few minutes to die and then I turn the AC on. Cool air blows from a vent near the door and Octavia closes her eyes and spreads out her arms like a bird in flight. I can't help but laugh as I pack up my kit and head to the door. Before I get there, though, Octavia grabs my arm and stops me. For a few moments, she says nothing. She just looks at her hand on my arm as if my skin is made of gold. There are a million questions in the air around us, but it's not the time to answer any of them yet.

"Thank you." She says.

"I know. I'm a savior to sweaty Ark people everywhere." I joke. I'm not a very sentimental person on account of my mom never hugging me as a child, so I try to joke my way out of this. She shakes her head.

"No. I mean _thank you._ " I finally catch on.

"No problem, Octavia. I'll see you around." I take one more glance at the misplaced floorboard as I leave, but the door obstructs my vision as it closes and I'm standing face to face with hard metal.

 _I'll see you around?_ That's what I say to a girl who can't leave her cabin? I scold myself all the way back to Mecha-station.


End file.
